A Cold Landscape
by Demented Insane Spirit
Summary: HOLIDAY FIC. Sesshomaru learns of the absurd ‘Christmas’ holiday from Rin’s random chatter and is baffled at what gift he should buy for her. One shot.


DIS: I love holiday fics. They're so much fun to make. I've never made an Inuyasha one...And it's been such a long time, too!!

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_Title: A Cold Landscape_

_Rating: K_

_Genre: General_

_Summary: HOLIDAY FIC. Sesshomaru learns of the absurd 'Christmas' holiday from Rin's random chatter and is baffled at what gift he should buy for her. Drabble._

_Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha._

_Notes/Warnings: HOLIDAY FIC! Implied Sesshomaru/Rin; one-shot; I was listening to Christmas music when I was writing this. _

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_A Cold Landscape_

The soft snowflakes that fell to the air were gently guided by the swift, light wind of cool temperatures. Sesshomaru wasn't particularly worried about how cold it was, nor was Jaken. He had needed to go out of his way to buy Rin a warm fur cloak and shoes, though. She hadn't cared about running around in the snow with her bare feet, but once he discovered they turned a light blue every once in awhile, he informed her in his no-nonsense tone that she would be forced to wear warmer clothing. Like Jaken and Sesshomaru, (although his companions didn't know _his_ preference) Rin enjoyed warm weather more so.

As Jaken and Rin sat by a fire in a cave, Sesshomaru remained at the mouth of the cave, staring as the snowflakes floated down and covered the already-white, frozen ground. There was no musical chatter from the birds in the trees, no such sound from any animal. The night was quiet and unusually calming. Sesshomaru was sure that there was some group of youkais out causing problems, but for the most part, it was peaceful.

"...ridiculous!" Jaken's high-pitched, hysterical voice reached Sesshomaru's ears. He glanced to the corner of his eye, listening in on what the imp considered 'ridiculous' this time.

"It is not ridiculous!" Rin indignantly replied. She slapped her leg with her hand in a furious gesture. "I wouldn't lie about this, Master Jaken! My parents taught me all about it! They were Christians, not Buddhists!" Jaken made a growling sound, but allowed Rin to continue. "Christmas is all about giving people gifts and loving your family and friends..." A dreamy expression crossed her face as she sighed and beamed up at the ceiling. Jaken made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. Frowning, she added, "And Jesus."

"I don't need to hear about your Christian babble!" He ground out, shaking a tiny, green fist. "When was the last time you ever celebrated the stupid holiday, anyway?" She looked a bit put out by that, looking to the ground. Last Christmas there hadn't been any snow and she had been healing from a poison so she hadn't really been able to celebrate it.

"Well...Not since my parents were alive," she confessed ashamedly. Jaken gave snort of satisfaction, smirking. Rin fell silent as though she had been scolded, staring into the flames. She buried her chin in her fur cloak, musing, _I wanted to get Lord Sesshomaru a gift last year, but... _She turned her head slightly to look at the youkai in speaking, her mouth tilting up a bit. _Maybe I can do it this year! I'll give it three days before Christmas so that I'm not late and before anything happens! _

Sesshomaru returned his gaze to the snowy landscape before him and gave a soft, nearly. inaudible snort. _Christmas, _he sneered. _Ridiculous_

_---_

The snowstorm had passed and at last, Sesshomaru was able to tread through it. The coolness of the substance pressed against his kimono pants, chilling his legs slightly. He ignored it completely, continuing through the snow, walking beside Ah-Un with Rin on the back. She was rustling through her kimono, her cheeks flushed from the cold. A sudden smile lit up her features and then she took her hand out of her kimono, her hand clasped over something.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she chirped, turning to beam at him with a wide, beautiful smile. She held her hand out and he glanced at it before reaching up with his only available hand, his palm up. He didn't actually care what she would give him, assuming it would be a rock or something absurd like that. Instead, a necklace with a gleaming, emerald gem hanging from it dropped in his hand. He suspected it was something she had had for some time. "A Christmas present," she explained with another smile. He simply looked at her before dropping his hand and closing his hand over the necklace. Satisfied, Rin turned around to stare ahead of her, a large grin on her lips.

Sesshomaru considered over the gift that he had received. Besides the things that Sesshomaru had inherited from his father, he had never actually been given anything. Inuyasha, when he was a child and naïve, had only tried giving him one of his toys, but he had simply turned away and never looked back at the dejected, heart-broken expression on his little brother's face. A part of Sesshomaru wanted to hurl the necklace as far as he could, but another part – the part that often controlled him when it came to Rin – wanted to place the necklace where it would never be lost and would be close to his heart.

A sudden idea popped up in his head and he frowned, wondering, _What should I give Rin in return? _He wasn't sure what would compel him to dwell on such a thing, considering that he had practically given her his life. However, he could feel by the warmth and love that poured from the gem that this was a hard thing for her to give up and likely the only thing that had been left to her name. He hesitated to think of the heirloom he had been given from his father. He had inherited it with the manor of his father's, while everything else had gone to Inuyasha's cursed mother, Izayoi, something he resented her deeply for. Although he wouldn't admit it, his father was perhaps the only person he had ever admired in his life, the only person he believed was a true demon. The golden trinket that his father used to carry around with him constantly was now Sesshomaru's and it seemed a fitting gift to his ward.

"Master Jaken!" Rin suddenly called. The imp whipped around and shot her a nasty look, which she completely ignored, waving a worn, but well-cared for dagger and its sheath. "I got you a Christmas present, too!"

"I told you, girl, that I don't – " He wasn't given a chance to finish his sentence as the object went flying through the hair and hit him square in the face. Rin blinked and lowered her hand, staring at the emptiness of it, a bit clueless. Giving an ashamed look, she called, "Sorry!" but he only grumbled and rubbed his face and clutched the dagger, reluctantly accepting the gift. As they walked, he swung it in his hand a bit cheerfully, secretly pleased to have received such a nice gift.

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The night was strangely cold on Christmas Eve. Rin lay awake, staring up at the ceiling of the abandoned village house they had decided to sleep it. She could hear Sesshomaru crunching in the snow outside and smiled slightly. She knew her lord well enough that, since he hadn't gotten rid of her gift, he liked it, if only a small bit. Having only saved two things from her parents' things before they were stolen or taken by the village, Rin felt it was necessary to give the two most important people in her life her most important possessions.

Sighing a bit, Rin stood and collected her cloak against her, pushing her feet more firmly in the tight, uncomfortable shoes. She wanted to go running with her feet free, but knew Sesshomaru would get irritated and in a bad mood. Quietly, she crept outside and wrinkled her brow, seeing that Sesshomaru wasn't visible. She stepped out into the snow and peered up. By the position of the moon, she knew that it was past the eve of Christmas and finally Christmas day. She pulled her cloak tighter around her and grinned widely. It didn't matter if she didn't get any gifts or if she was always traveling on the road in all weathers. Just being with who she was made her happy.

"Rin." Jumping, she turned to see Sesshomaru settled against the house, his expression blank. "Why are you awake?" Guiltily, she trudged over to him in the squeaking, crunching snow, smiling sheepishly.

"I can never sleep on Christmas Eve, Lord Sesshomaru. It's finally Christmas day, now, though." She pointed to the sky to explain how she knew. He stared at her mutely and then withdrew his hand from the sleeves, extending his hand with glimmering gold spangles visible in his hand. She hesitated and then moved forward, taking the jewelry from him. It was a bracelet and could tell by the feel of it how old it was. Looking to her youkai lord, she saw that he was staring back at the cold landscape, but smiled anyway. Shyly, she moved closer and hugged him around the neck. "Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru." She hurried back inside, her cheeks a bit pink from her actions.

_Your welcome, Rin, _he responded silently, fingering the necklace around his neck.

_Finis_

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DIS: It's been awhile since I've written a Sesshomaru/Rin fic, let alone an Inuyasha story. I was satisfied with this drabble, to say the least. And that hug was so kawaii! Anyway, please leave a review before leaving. It'd be much appreciated. Ciao!


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